In 2024, I boarded the Grand Princess Cruise Ship for a two week Queensland cruise from Melbourne.  During the day Sail Away Party it was announced by Cruise Director Sophie Gideon that, “Fortuna Luck will be hosting the ships Bingo games during the voyage.” Although she’s a fun character; it’s obvious that’s her stage name.  So, who is Fortuna Luck?’ Meet ‘Kathryn Connors.’  She’s an American Actress from New York, and she was hired by Princess Cruises to host the BINGO related events as ‘Fortuna Luck’ in the ships Vista Lounge, and host ‘Deal or no Deal’ in the Princess Theat ..read more

During every voyage you go on the cruise staff makes the professional effort to put iYOU (the passenger) first so that the voyage full of memories that will last forever.  From the amazing ‘Cabin Stewarts and Waiters all the way through to the Captain;’ working on a cruise ship is DEFINITELY a full-time job. Although life at sea sounds exciting because you get to travel the world; to me ‘working on a Cruise Ship ship sounds like slave labour.’  I say this because  they wake up before you do (at 5am depending on the crew level), and don’t get to bed until you do - 24/7.  No ..read more

On Sunday, 17 March 2024 I boarded the grand Princess cruise at Station Pier Wharf for a two week Queensland Round Trip.  Although cruising is back after the loooooong lockdown period; Princess Cruises has really stripped everything back to the basics.  These are just some of the changes I noticed straight away when I boarded the ship for my 2024 cruise. Your Cabin: In your cabin; you no longer get a love heart chocolate treat on your pillow every night, your PJ’s placed nicely, or a complimentary Carry bag for the cruise.  You now need to supply or purchase your own. At the Res ..read more

Cruise tip: - If you’re not going on one of the registered shore excursions, ‘make sure to tell to tell the Cruise Line what’s happening so the ship will know where you are.’ I was watching the TV show 'Mighty Cruise Ships.' The ship the show was featuring was delayed in departing by an hour because the crew had to wait for some missing passengers to return to the ship.  The good news is, the passengers eventually returned to the ship, in the ship, was able to depart on time. On another episode, they showed footage of some passengers running for the ship when they saw it departing.  ..read more

Unlike before, things have changed on the Princess cruise ships in regards to ‘casual dining in the main restaurants.’  This was originally organised when you booked your cruise with your travel agent, or your cruise coordinator; but now you have to organise it yourself through the Princess app on your device. As well as ‘the Sabatini Italian restaurant, and the crown Grill; ‘the grand Princess also has three casual dining rooms: ‘DaVinci, Michelangelos, and Botticelli.’  These restaurants are located on decks five, and six on the ship.  The service times are ‘5pm to 11:40 pm’ a ..read more

On Tuesday 16th January 2024, I boarded the ,Puffing Billy train for the first time to celebrate my birthday. The weather was perfect for the day, and I loved every moment. Built in 1900 to serve the local communities; the Puffing Billy is the oldest running steam train in Australia. It runs from 'Belgrave to Lakeside Victoria daily, and serves as a Shore excursion scenic train when the cruise ships dock in Melbourne. Step into a timeless world of wonder with Australia’s favourite steam train, Puffing Billy, located in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges and only one-hour east of Melbourne. Whe ..read more

Forget about the movie where ‘snakes are on the plane;’ because this happened in real life: https://fb.watch/ohiYp3Lhct/?mibextid=v7YzmG. On Monday 13th November 2023, it was reported on the ‘TODAY show’ in Australia that ‘the Grand Princess Cruise ship’ (my ship for my cruise in March 2024) had an outbreak of COVID19, and Gastro on board the ship when docked in Adelaide during ‘a sixteen round trip to Queensland.’  This voyage was the cruise before mine, and my sister was actually booked to go on it with her family from Melbourne but she canceled the cruise shortly after booking it. I a ..read more

Hi ho, hi ho.. it's off to cruise we go! Exciting news for all you Disney Cruise fans out there. Disney Cruises is bringing 'the Magic of Disney' to Australia for the ‘2023/2024 Summer cruise season.' Spotted off the coast of Noumea New Calendonia on Wednesday 25th October 2023; the massive Disney Wonder cruise ship will sail into Sydney Harbour for the first time THIS Friday, 27th October 2023 so if you’re around Circular Quay go down there, have a look. Since I now live in Melbourne so I won't be able to live stream it from Circular Quay. So click on this link: -> https://www.facebook.c ..read more

Here’s the exciting news that Australian and New Zealand Disney fans have been waiting for. Disney Cruise Lines is bringing ‘the Wonder of Disney’ to Australia. The ‘Disney Wonder Cruise ship’ is coming Australia for the 2023/2024 cruise season, and the ship will be docked in Melbourne from November 2023. Ever since the launch in 1998; Disney Cruises has never sailed in Australian waters until now, and your Disney Dreams can come true via: https://www.disney.com.au/disney-magic-at-sea. I’m currently planning to LIVE Stream the event from Melbournes Station Pier Wharf, and the event will start ..read more

Exciting news for ALL Vaccinated and unvaccinated Australian cruise lovers. On Wednesday 23th August 2023, CLIA announced, "Effective immediately; the COVID mandates for cruising that were put in place when cruising returned in May 2022 have been dropped." You no longer need to 'be triple vaccinated, test positive before boarding, or wear masks on board the ship (unless you want to).' The withdrawal of cruise-specific COVID measures was confirmed by Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly following a decision by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. As the result, I recei ..read more